So in an effort to raise more awareness to the current IDP issue in Pakistan, we decided to launch www.helpidps.com – a twitter aggregator and a landing page for those looking to help out with the current crisis.

We encourage all of you to contribute with whatever you can. If you are a twitter user please remember to tag  any IDP related tweet with either #IDP, #SWAT or #helpIDP and our system will aggregate that automatically.

Also, we want to do something to raise funds quickly, so we are offering 5 banner spots on the following sites for 1 year for free for anyone who donates a sizable amount to any recognized charity organization who is helping out in SWAT relief effort.

You will be able to put your banner on helpIDPs.com and Mazaydar.com for 1 year.

Let us help those in need. Let’s spread the word via all the social networks that we can think of.

Directly from Jehan’s blog:

Here is a video of Ammar Yassir, Mohammad Nawaz, Syed Talha Izhar, Fariha Akhtar, Jamal Ashiqain and Muneer Usman making an appeal to each and every Pakistani to become a part of the mission to offer relief and assistance to the people of Swat.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover -Mark Twain, author

A very true statement. I often get asked what is it that I want to do in my life? After all I am at the start of my “professional” career, don’t have a MBA or 15 years of industry experience. In fact, none of our team members at Deensoft have more than 5 years of “industrial” experience. We have advisers who do have that sort of experience and that is great. To me experience is something that is not quantitative, its qualitative.

What we do have is a great understanding of how the web works, how your website, your web application, your mobile application should look, feel and work. We have strong understanding of how to build early stage business and how to help our clients focus on the core while we deliver the solution for them.

So to all those friend out there waiting to get that “industrial” experience, my advice would be to jump in. Find what you love to do and then do it. As Mark Twain said above, twenty years from now, you will be more happy that you tried.

And also check out this awesome video.

I am sure most of you have been following the news with what is going on in the Swat region. We are not going to discuss the political aspect of the whole situation, as I think right now, helping those in need is much more important.

There are many ways to help:

P@SHA has launched a relief effort.

Here is a list from ChapatiMystery

Please donate at:

• UNCHR’s Pakistan Page.
• Mercy Corps, Pakistan.
• Checks can be written to the best humanitarian organization in Pakistan:
  USA Edhi international Foundation.
  42-07 National street
  Corona, New York, 11368 USA
  Tel: (718) 639-5120
  Fax:(718) 335-1978
  Toll Free# 1-888-899-EDHI (3344)
• Pakistan Red Crescent Society.
• A compilation of organizations you can support.
• Another great list at Teeth Maestro.

Please do take a few minutes from your schedule to address this issue. Tell your family and friends and encourage them to donate. These people really do need our help.

You may or may not know that I am the founder of Deensoft, a web design and web application studio here in Ottawa. I get a lot of young people approaching me asking me about how Deensoft works, what our design process is, how we deal with clients. So in the effort to consolidate my thoughts on one page, I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about our philosophy and why we do what we do. I hope that other young entrepreneurs can benefit from this.

Before I actually dive into the details, please do note that this isn’t a “one-size fits all” solution. This is our approach, has worked well for us, but we constantly keep improving it. Learning from mistakes is critical.

1. Listen

One of the most important aspect of our approach is to listen to our customers. We really listen. We let you tell us all about the dream application / website that you want. Why? Simple, because you have a great idea. We let you tell us all about your website, your competitors, your brand, you ambitions and your dreams.

2. Brainstorm

Before we start our coding brains, we work closely with you to sketch out your idea on paper, get the architecture strong and visual identity spot on. We create layouts for your application. This helps us to understand and digg deeper in your thoughts and ideas. Worth every effort!

3. Create

Once we have a foundation, it is time to lay the stones and start building. This is where we unleashing our coding monkeys to attack the problem and start working top bottom on your application. Soon your dream becomes reality.

4. Build

Once we have created a solid structure, it is time to decorate it with all the nice stuff that we had promised during the brainstorming. This is where you get to see the site with all the bells and whistles. For your website, we use separate layers of XHTML, CSS and some nifty Javascript.

5. Test

We take quality control seriously. We test and test and then test again, before handing you the green light. This ensures that we are delivering upon our promise and that the customer is going to have fun using their own dream application. Errors are bound to happen, that’s why we do testing, to catch them and kill them.

6. Deploy

Before unleashing your website/application into the wild, we sit down with you to go over every aspect and make sure you are ok with all of it. It is critical to make sure that every detail is in place.

7. Celebrate

If you live in the same town as us, we treat you to a nice lunch or dinner. Our way to celebrate success with you.

One of the key elements in working with any client is to have a structured approach with them. Remember, they are approaching you to help them solve the problem, not increase it. So keeping them in the loop every step of the way is an ideal way to keep things happy.